8 Places on Earth Where Nature Breaks the Rules

From bubblegum-pink lakes to rivers so hot they can boil animals, Earth has a way of surprising us with natural wonders that seem to defy logic. But these aren’t magic tricks or ghost stories. They are real phenomena that, as bizarre as they seem, are clearly explained by some interesting science. Here are eight places where nature seems to be breaking its own rules. 

1. Lake Hillier, Australia
2. The “Reverse” Waterfall of Naneghat near Mumbai, India
3. Shanay-Timpishka, Peru
4. The Sailing Stones of Death Valley, USA
5. Lake Natron, Tanzania
6. Darvaza Gas Crater (“Door to Hell”), Turkmenistan
7. Fly Geyser, Nevada, USA
8. Zone of Silence in Mexico

Lake Hillier, Australia

If you look up a photo of Lake Hillier, Australia, you’ll immediately think of bubblegum or Barbie dolls. This small lake can be found on Middle Island off the coast of Western Australia and strikes an impressive shade of bright pink. Located in a patch of forest next to the ocean, it’s particularly striking and feels like it doesn’t really belong. 

While bright pink isn’t a color often found in nature, Lake Hillier isn’t the only lake in Australia that boasts this hue. This is because a certain combination of algae and bacteria can be found in this part of the world that, when combined with salty water, creates the unique coloring.

After testing water samples and analyzing the DNA of Lake Hillier, scientists found various salt-loving bacteria and algae that could explain the color. One species, Salinibacter ruber, makes up a third of the DNA and is now considered the most likely source of the lake’s pink color.

The “Reverse” Waterfall of Naneghat near Mumbai, India

In parts of the Western Ghats, India, during the monsoon season, some waterfalls do something that seems pretty bizarre. In the right conditions, powerful winds catch the falling water and blow it upward, making the falls look like they’re flowing in reverse. While the phenomenon looks incredible, it really is as simple as that. 

Some of the most famous reverse waterfalls can be found in India, including the one found at Naneghat, which is located near Mumbai, India. Other reverse waterfalls can be found all over the world, including in Japan, Brazil, Chile, Brazil, and Ireland. There are even a few examples in the United States, including Waipuhia Falls in Oahu, Hawaii, and a one-time occurrence in Ivins, Utah. 

Shanay-Timpishka, Peru

Deep in Peru’s Amazon basin flows a river so hot it could cook small animals—but there’s no nearby volcano to heat the water. This place is Shanay-Timpishka, or the “Boiling River of the Amazon.”

Research suggests the water is heated geothermally via deep fault lines, where rainwater seeps into the Earth, warms up as it descends, and then re-emerges as superheated springs. Local communities, including Santuario Huistin and Mayantuyacu, regard the sacred Shanay-Timpishka river as a spirit-connected source of mystical energy that can heal believers and punish skeptics, a reverence maintained for centuries.

The Sailing Stones of Death Valley, USA

Death Valley National Park, known for being the hottest, driest, and lowest place in North America, contains the strange Racetrack Playa, where rocks called “sailing stones” seem to move on their own across the flat desert. They leave long tracks behind them, even though no one has ever seen them shift in real time. These stones roll down from nearby mountains and end up on the playa, where some glide in straight lines and others in winding paths. 

After years of mystery, scientists finally recorded their movement in 2014 and discovered that the rocks are slowly pushed by thin sheets of ice and light winds when rainwater freezes overnight and melts during the day. While the explanation is simple, the effect is still pretty cool. 

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Lake Natron, Tanzania

Lake Natron, in northern Tanzania near the Kenyan border, is a very alkaline, shallow lake famous for its bright red color and harsh conditions. It’s also known as the lake that can turn animals to stone…or can it?

Lake Natron is fed by the Southern Ewaso Ng’iro River and hot springs rich in minerals, and high evaporation makes its water extremely caustic, with a pH up to 12, which can preserve the bodies of animals that die in it. This creates an effect that looks like those animals have been turned to stone—pretty cool and a bit freaky.

The lake’s unusual chemistry comes from nearby volcanic activity, especially Ol Doinyo Lengai, whose lava adds minerals to the water. Despite its brutal chemistry, the lake supports some forms of life: lesser flamingos breed here, and certain fish have adapted to survive its extreme conditions. 

Darvaza Gas Crater (“Door to Hell”), Turkmenistan

The Darvaza gas crater, also called the “Door to Hell” or “Gates of Hell,” is a burning natural gas crater in Turkmenistan’s Karakum Desert that has been ablaze since 1971. It was created when Soviet geologists accidentally drilled into an underground gas pocket, causing the ground to collapse.

They then set it on fire to stop toxic gases from escaping, expecting the flames to burn out quickly, but the fire has continued for over 50 years. The crater is about 230 feet wide and 100 feet deep, and its flames and heat were once visible from miles away, making it a popular tourist attraction and a site of scientific interest. 

In recent years, the fire has started to die down, with authorities drilling wells to capture the escaping methane, reducing the flames by about a third. Although the government has considered fully extinguishing it due to environmental and health concerns, the crater still burns in some areas. 

Fly Geyser, Nevada, USA

Deep within Nevada’s Black Rock Desert lies Fly Geyser, a geothermal geyser that looks more like an alien sculpture than a natural phenomenon. It was actually created by accident—back in 1916, a well drilled for irrigation hit super-hot geothermal water, and then another well in 1964 released even more hot water and minerals, gradually building up the geyser’s cone-shaped mounds. 

The geyser shoots boiling water about five feet into the air and is covered in bright red and green colors from heat-loving algae, while quartz has formed inside the mounds much faster than what’s normally seen in nature.

Zone of Silence in Mexico

The Zone of Silence is a strange 50-kilometer-wide area in Mexico’s Chihuahuan Desert where radios stop working and compasses go haywire. While it feels straight out of a sci-fi movie, this phenomenon most likely occurs due to underground magnetite and leftover meteorite debris.

The land sits inside the mostly empty Mapimí Biosphere Reserve and has a long history of unusual events, like meteorites crashing there in 1938, 1954, and 1969, and even reports of UFO sightings. 

The name “Zone of Silence” came about in 1966 after a Pemex expedition kept losing radio signals, which only added to the mystery. The area made international headlines in 1970 when a U.S. rocket went off course and crashed there, leading Wernher Von Braun and a team of Americans to spend nearly a month recovering it.

Today, locals and tourists embrace the Zone’s eerie reputation, with plenty of UFO-themed tours available.